Solved it! (A dilemma of using up very small oddments)

Well done.

I bought more yarn yesterday
Admittedly only three balls to carry on making a blanket larger still but it will mean more leftovers.

I need to get a grip and do what you're doing!

It took me a while to figure out what you meant, but when I realised you were talking about knitting wool, I twigged. It would work for crochet, too but you may need more than 3 1/2 times the length.

And why not, Callistemon? I bet your stash still isn’t bigger than mine!
And I’m getting short of cupboard space (except for the loft) which is too much of a PITA to use when I just want to check if there’s any X colour, before I go and order any more…

I stumbled on this Facebook group for a marvellous method of using up tiny yarn scraps. In a nutshell, you join the lengths together and make one big ball of mixed yarn, then crochet it together with another ball of plain yarn - white or cream seems to work best, using a thick crochet hook, around 7 or 8mm. The result is a thick, warm blanket, with no ends to sew in. Obviously the same idea can be used to knit blankets as well. The Facebook group has links to show you different methods of joining the yarn, which are all very strong and secure.

What I've done is wind a few metres, join in a new colour, then wind a few metres of that, then join a third yarn etc. It means cutting larger leftover yarn balls, which is fine. The process of preparing the mixed yarn balls I find quite therapeutic.

Here's my WIP. It measures about 15" wide and I will continue to crochet until it's about 60" in length, then I'll make two more strips the same and join them, making the final blanket 60" x 45"

Witzend, this method works for me.
To check if you have enough yarn left to knit one row, lay the loose yarn across the width of the knitted piece, three times.
Not sure if this works for crochet but always works for knitting.
Hope picture comes through.

Many thanks, gardener44 - I wish I’d known that before!

Lovely blanket, JulieNoted!
I never learned to crochet, and I’m not going to start now, but thanks for giving me an idea for using up a lot more of my stash once this blanket is finished. The little oddments will soon be gone, after which it’ll be much larger amounts.
Two strands of yarn on fatter needles!

I’ve previously done that while adapting a pattern for a small, (simple) ornamental C-word stocking, to something much bigger that Gdcs can actually hang up in anticipation.

Meant to add, what a beautiful flamingo!

PS JulieNoted, I don’t use FB any more but just watched the Russian method of joining yarn on YouTube - genius! Thanks for mentioning in the first place - I didn’t know it was possible to join yarn invisibly like that.

gardener44

To check if you have enough yarn left to knit one row, lay the loose yarn across the width of the knitted piece, three times.

I did know that but forgot all about it!
Duh!

I don't think it works for crochet, at least not for treble stitch which is loose.

Witzend

PS JulieNoted, I don’t use FB any more but just watched the Russian method of joining yarn on YouTube - genius! Thanks for mentioning in the first place - I didn’t know it was possible to join yarn invisibly like that.

That method is amazing, isn't it? But it's quite time consuming. The method I use, which is one of those recommended in the Facebook group, is so simple - it is just a reef knot (remember those from Girl Guides?), which you pull as tight as possible, then cut the ends off close to the yarn.

You would think that it could easily come undone in use, particularly when washed, but there are many, many people in the group who attest that it works and holds together no matter how much rough handling the blanket gets! And oddly enough, the resulting 'knotty' feel of it is barely noticed because it's crocheted or knitted along with another strand.